I'm not a genius detective

Chapter 84: Death Time Shrinks to Nighttime
After a moment's thought, Han Ling asked, "Does Cao Kexuan like night fishing?"

Man: "Night fishing? Oh, you mean fishing at night? I like it, I like it. He talked to me about it and said that sometimes there are more small fish during the day, so fishing at night is more effective."

Sometimes, I'll fish all night long.

Time passed slowly, and the two sides talked for a long time before the topic finally turned to the Wei family.

Men were somewhat reluctant to talk about the Wei family, but it wasn't a secret, and talking about it wouldn't offend anyone. So, under Han Ling's guidance, he opened up.

The Wei family was indeed the most prominent family in Weijiazhuang Village, with a large male population and the patriarch serving as the village chief, so the Wei family enjoyed a high level of prestige in the village.

When there's a problem, the villagers always ask Wei Shoushan for help first, rather than Wang Zhenzhou.

In short: Wei Shoushan can do what Wang Zhenzhou can do, and he can also do what Wang Zhenzhou cannot do.

If that's the case, is Wang Zhenzhou still needed?
Moreover, the villagers naturally trusted their own villagers more and were resistant to Wang Zhenzhou, an outsider. Gradually, Wang Zhenzhou became a figurehead.

Clearly, Wang Zhenzhou also realized this. After discovering that he couldn't change the situation, he simply gave up and waited for a transfer, leaving the position for the next "opportunistic" person.

"The Cao family is the second-ranked family?" Han Ling was surprised.

The man nodded: "Yes, we'd say we're the second largest family, second only to the Wei family in terms of male members. They've leased a mountain to grow fruit trees, and they also grow medicinal herbs, mushrooms, and rare wild vegetables. It's quite profitable."

Han Ling: "What industries does the Wei family mainly engage in in the village?"

The man said, "The Wei family owns more hills, both in terms of timber and livestock. They can sell some timber and raise pheasants, goats, and bees... They should be richer than the Cao family."

As the conversation progressed, Han Ling gained a general understanding of the family and industrial structure of Weijiazhuang Village.

The Wei family is number one, the Cao family is number two, and the others are just supporting characters.

Ninety percent of the village's wealth ended up in the hands of ten percent of the villagers. The rest either worked for the Cao and Wei families or farmed and raised chickens, ducks, fish, and geese.

They lived off the land, but this mountain was basically monopolized by the Cao and Wei families.

Judging from the villager's reaction, he didn't seem to feel resentful; he believed that since the man was capable, he should be the one to earn money.

Are these events related to Cao Kexuan's accidental death? Han Ling currently believes it is unlikely.

There was no competition between the Cao and Wei families, and even if there were, there was no need to take action against a college student. Cao Kexuan was dead, but the Cao family had plenty of other men.

Unless, Cao Kexuan is destined to return to the village to inherit some business in the future, thus triggering a dispute over the interests of heirs.

This possibility requires an investigation starting from within the Cao family.

The motive for the crime is one of the important goals of criminal police investigations into accidental deaths.

After laying the groundwork, Han Ling brought up the issue of illegal cremation, asking if it had happened before.
The villager did not hide anything, nor did he feel that it was illegal. On the contrary, he thought it was normal, as it had happened several times before.

For example, many years ago when a family was building a house, one villager and another villager got into an argument, which escalated into a physical altercation. In the end, one villager was pushed off the roof and was bedridden for two months. He is still lame now.

Intentional injury, especially to the point of causing severe disability, clearly constitutes a crime, making this a sure-fire case for prosecution.

They only paid compensation and didn't call the police.

Furthermore, when the two young men were playing around, they knocked down an elderly person nearby. The elderly person hit their head on a stone, was hospitalized, and eventually passed away.

This situation may constitute negligent homicide.

They didn't call the police.

It seems that Weijiazhuang Village has become accustomed to this way of handling things. Unless it is a case of intentional injury or murder, there is no option to call the police. Everything is resolved internally.

Han Ling noted these things down, and there may be more. She will report them to the branch office later, and the branch office will decide how to handle them.

Right now, we still need to find out the truth about Cao Kexuan's unexpected death.

Since this has always been the practice, can we use this to justify the illegal cremation? Han Ling still doesn't think so.

What the villager just said was all from many years ago. Back then, transportation was inconvenient and management was lax, so no one cared what the village did. Now, the procedures are strict, and the village would rather break the law and find connections to bypass the police and cremate people directly. This makes one suspicious.

After leaving the villager's house, Han Ling and Tong Feng went to find someone who raised fish in the lake.

There were three fish farms in total, and the two men visited each one to inquire, eventually finding out about Cao Kexuan's situation on the afternoon of April 17th.

Around six o'clock, as it was getting dark, Cao Kexuan was still fishing by the lake, and he had already started using a luminous float.

Clearly, Cao Kexuan was preparing for night fishing.

If the villagers are not lying, then Cao Kexuan died on the evening of April 17th.

Fishing late at night, and even jumping into the lake to chase the fishing rod, is extremely dangerous. It's basically playing with one's life. Even if he's reluctant to give up the big fish that's been hooked, would Cao Kexuan really do something like that?

"Cao Kexuan is a college student, and he has a girlfriend from the city. They have a great relationship and a bright future. Doesn't he consider the consequences when he jumps into the icy lake at night to chase after a fishing rod?"

On the way back, Han Ling pointed out the unreasonable aspects.

Logically speaking, no one would do something like that.

Are big fish really that attractive to anglers? So attractive that they lose their minds and risk their lives to jump into the lake?

Tong Feng agreed: "I also felt something was wrong, but jumping into the lake to chase a fishing rod is a completely subjective act, and we can't conclude that his death was problematic based on that. We need more convincing clues."

Back at the scene of the incident, the forensic doctors and trace evidence examiners were still working. Han Ling and Fang Zhou reported their findings to Fang Zhou.

After listening, Fangzhou fell into thought.

The case initially arose because the person who reported the incident, Zhu Yuntang, received a text message from her deceased boyfriend. Later, it was discovered that Cao Kexuan's cause of death was incorrect, changed from death from illness to drowning, and that the funeral home had violated regulations by cremating him. Only then did the criminal investigation team rush to Weijiazhuang Village to conduct an in-depth investigation.

Then, various situations arose:
Cao Kexuan's parents did not cooperate.

Wang Zhenzhou's fictional character.

Wei Shoushan led the villagers in a show of force.

It has now been discovered that Cao Kexuan's death likely occurred at night, and no one heard any cries for help.

When you put everything together, it all feels strange, and even a little eerie.

Of course, there are reasonable explanations for all of them, but the criminal investigation team must be more cautious and do its best to completely rule out the possibility of homicide to avoid the concealment of a wrongful conviction.

Wei Tianyong had already left. By this time, the forensic pathologist and trace evidence examiner had almost finished their investigation. Fang Zhou gathered everyone together to discuss the next steps in the investigation. "We must go to the deceased's home," said Qiao Hong, the chief forensic pathologist in the forensic department and Yang Rui's mentor. "Although the body has been cremated, clothing and other belongings may still be there."

She was considering the issue from a forensic perspective; examining the deceased's clothing is part of a forensic doctor's job, and there might be clues on it.

When a loved one passes away, some family members, in order to preserve memories, will not destroy or discard the deceased's personal belongings, including the clothes they were wearing at the time of death. It is necessary to inquire about this.

Fang Zhou nodded and looked at the director of the trace evidence department: "Brother Shen, have you made any progress over there?"

The Trace Examination Department is another name for the trace evidence testing laboratory. The person in charge is of a lower rank than the department head, so they are usually called the director, which is a more official title.

The squadron leader was barely at the deputy section chief level.

The detective, called Brother Shen, shook his head: "It had rained, and the footprints were too messy. We've already taken rubbings of all of them and are preparing to take them back to the station for further analysis. As for other suspicious traces... we haven't found any yet."

Fang Zhou frowned slightly and held out his hand to Han Ling: "Give me a cigarette."

Han Ling took out a cigarette case and handed it over, saying, "Brother Zhou, you smoke but don't carry any cigarettes, you're always asking me for some."

Fang Zhou took the cigarette pack: "Stop talking nonsense. I usually quit smoking, but I'll smoke if you give me one, and I'll take it if you don't."

Han Ling: "..."

Qiao Hong and the other older police officers chuckled.

Fang Zhou is a talented person. At 27, he is a very young deputy squadron leader. Sometimes, listening to these detectives chat and joke around is quite interesting and can ease the tension brought about by investigating cases.

Fang Zhou lit a cigarette, returned the cigarette case and lighter to Han Ling, and said, "Let me explain the scope of our investigation."

First, we must go to Cao Kexuan's house, not only to check the clothes that the forensic doctor Qiao just mentioned, but more importantly, to find out about the deceased's condition before his death from his parents, such as his mental state and whether he had any disputes or conflicts with others recently.

Second, the person who first discovered Cao Kexuan's drowning death should be the focus of the inquiry.

Third, he needs to visit his peers in the same village, especially young people who have a good relationship with Cao Kexuan.

Fourth, Cao Kexuan's character—you know what I mean.

Han Ling and the others nodded.

The purpose of investigating Cao Kexuan's character is to find out if he has done anything to harm others.

In most cases of murder, it takes two to tango; there's always a reason why someone would attack you. They can't just kill you for no reason.

To put it bluntly: Why not kill someone else?

The words may be rough, but the principle is sound; this is one of the main directions for criminal police to investigate murder cases.

The group arrived at Cao Kexuan's house again.

The gate was tightly closed, and Zhang Yandong (a criminal police officer from the First Squadron, mentioned earlier) went up and knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" The voice inside was Cao's father.

When Zhang Yandong revealed his identity, Cao's father got angry again and almost cursed, telling them to leave immediately.

Their attitude was completely uncooperative.

Seeing this, Zhang Yandong turned to look at Fang Zhou, his eyes questioning.

"Brother Zhou, let's force our way in, stop dawdling," Han Ling suggested.

After spending time together, he felt that Fangzhou was good in every way, except that he was too upright and thought too much. Everyone liked this kind of personality, and there was nothing wrong with it. He usually didn't make any big mistakes at work, but his shortcomings were also quite obvious.

Just then, the phone rang. Fang Zhou raised his hand to signal Han Ling to wait a moment, took out his phone, glanced at it, and answered the call.

"Team Leader Ji".

"Have you arrived at Weijiazhuang Village?"

“We just went to investigate the location where Cao Kexuan fell into the water. It’s currently in front of Cao Kexuan’s house. His parents are not cooperating. Yes, that’s right.”

"The location is... turn into the second intersection after entering the village, then go straight and turn left at the third intersection. You will see us on the east side of the road."

"Ok."

After hanging up the phone, Fang Zhou told Han Ling to step back, as Ji Bowei would be there soon.

Soon, Ji Bowei appeared at the corner of the intersection and walked over quickly.

It seems that the matter at the funeral home has been resolved, or that the criminal investigation team's assistance is no longer needed for the time being.

"What's going on?" Ji Bowei asked, seeing a crowd gathered at the door.

Fang Zhou briefly recounted the results of his investigation over the past few hours in the village. After listening, Ji Bowei's expression darkened slightly. Without saying a word, he strode forward and kicked open the door.

Click!

That was the sound of a bolt breaking.

Then, he strode inside, with Fangzhou and the others quickly following behind.

"What are you doing?! You..." Cao's father rushed out of the living room, about to lash out.

Ji Bowen retorted angrily, "Are you playing house?! Cao Kexuan's death was not natural, and the law stipulates that the criminal police must intervene in the investigation!"

You call yourselves parents? You're willing to let your child die without knowing why?

Before the death certificate is issued, who can guarantee that Cao Kexuan died accidentally? Can you guarantee that?!

If you continue to resist the investigation, I will begin to question your motives!

The previous case is still fresh in my mind. These days, anything can happen, and everyone has to be investigated.

Cao's father was caught off guard by the rebuttal and was completely stunned, standing there speechless for a long time.

He understood that a high-ranking public security leader had arrived, someone not to be trifled with.

(End of this chapter)